The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve held 285.4 million barrels of crude oil as of the week ending September 4, representing the lowest stockpile level since November 1982, based on data released by the Energy Information Administration. The reserve declined by 1.2 million barrels from the previous week’s total of 286.6 million barrels. Over the past 12 months, the reserve has experienced a substantial decline of nearly 120 million barrels, or approximately 30%, from the 405.2 million barrels held a year prior.
The drawdown reflects a U.S. commitment to release 172 million barrels from the reserve. Commercial crude oil inventories, excluding the strategic reserve, fell 0.4 million barrels during the same week to reach 424.1 million barrels, which aligned with the five-year average.
Oil markets showed significant price movements during this period. West Texas Intermediate crude oil was priced at $92.69 per barrel on September 4, up $8.12 from the prior week and $30.47 above the price from a year earlier. The national average retail price for regular gasoline stood at $4.157 per gallon as of September 7, up $0.086 from the previous week and $0.965 above the year-ago level. Prices accelerated earlier in the week following Saudi Arabia’s shutdown of its East-West pipeline due to drone attacks, which pushed Brent crude futures above $108 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate futures above $103 per barrel—the first time U.S. crude had traded above $100 since May.
Additional factors contributed to upward pressure on oil markets, including the expiration in August of a 60-day ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran without a permanent agreement. U.S. refineries processed 17.6 million barrels per day during the week ending September 4, up 91,000 barrels per day from the prior week, operating at 97.8% capacity utilization. Crude oil imports increased by 53,000 barrels per day to 6.8 million barrels per day during the same period.
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